“They’re too big to slide around,” Seth said. “This wind doesn’t budge them and the ground is flat.”
“Exactly,” Isadore said. “These trovants seldom move when observed, though I know a wizard who claims to have watched from hiding as a large procession paraded across the prairie one night.”
“Those who venture to this part of the sanctuary rarely return,” Merek said. “Giants avoid this region, as do ogres and trolls. It is often repeated that to sleep here is to die here.”
The nearest hulking slab of rock suddenly seemed ominous to Seth. What would he do if it started to scoot toward him? How was a person supposed to fight a twenty-ton megalith?
“We have about an hour before the storm pummels us,” Isadore said. “If you get the blade before the storm catches up, we can fly southeast until we find shelter.”
“To sleep here is to die here,” Seth quoted.
“Few know of this place,” Isadore said. “You are benefiting from arcane knowledge I worked hard to acquire. If tales are true, the reliquary shifts position as well.”
“Are you coming inside with us?” Merek asked.
Isadore grinned and chuckled. “This is your quest. We’re the transportation. We’ll wait out here.”
“What if the storm hits before we’re out?” Seth asked.
“We’ll be gone,” Isadore said. “We can’t ride out the storm in the open, and we daren’t seek shelter behind rocks or in the reliquary.”
“I’ll go inside with them,” Serena volunteered.
“It might be dangerous,” Calvin warned.
“It will be dangerous,” Serena corrected. “Which is why you need me.”
“Hurry, whatever you do,” Isadore said. “The storm will not wait.”
“Should I take Serena?” Seth asked.
“I’ll go with Merek,” Serena volunteered. “Divide and conquer.”
Merek accepted Serena from Isadore. The wind intensified, peppering them with bits of dry brush and grit.
“I need cover,” Isadore said.
Basirus returned to dragon form, wings tucked, and curled around her. Seth started toward the one gap he could see in the improbable pyramid, weaving to avoid the larger solitary stones in his path. At the base of the pyramid, he scrambled up interlocked boulders using his hands and feet until he reached the gap.
“Check your motives,” Serena warned. “Legend has it that anyone with evil intentions will be crushed upon entry.”
“What if my motives are good, but yours are sour, and I’m carrying you?” Merek asked.
“Put me down,” Serena said. “Calvin too. Just to be safe.”
Seth set Calvin down. He hoped wanting his memories back would be considered an acceptable intention. And he didn’t mean anybody harm. Since time was not on their side, Seth quickly ducked into the triangular gap. The tunnel extended ahead about fifteen yards. The sheer volume of boulders above staggered his imagination, and the air was so saturated with the smell of stone that he could almost chew it.
The tunnel ended in a grand trapezoidal chamber within the center of the pyramid. Daylight filtered in through several shafts.
“Someone has produced an interesting paradox,” Merek said as he crouched to light a small lantern. “A person cannot enter with sinister intentions, but no being of light could wield the Unforgiving Blade. It’s a rare person who could do both.”
“Why can’t you?” Seth asked.
“The power that preserves me derives from light,” Merek said. “However, a shadow charmer should be a different story.”
“I can’t hear the wind from here,” Calvin said, coming into the chamber beside Serena.
Seth noticed that the air was unnaturally heavy and still, especially considering the nearby turbulence of the oncoming storm. At least there should have been a strong draft from the tunnel.
“What have we here?” Merek asked, examining a pedestal on a raised stone slab in the middle of the room.
Seth trotted over to him. The slot in the top of the pedestal seemed the right size to hold a blade. “Do you think somebody already took it?”
“Looks that way,” Merek said.
“There has to be more to it,” Serena said.
“Tell me about your friends outside,” Calvin said to Serena. “Did they stay out in the wind because the entrance would have crushed them?”
“It’s a delicate situation,” Serena said.
“Suppose we find the Unforgiving Blade and exit,” Merek said. “What happens?”
“I don’t know,” Serena said. “Can you trust Isadore? Absolutely not. When she sees the right opportunity to betray you, she’ll take it. She’s here to get the Wizenstone.”
“And she’s your friend?” Calvin asked.
“It’s why I didn’t want you involved,” Serena said. “Isadore helped me learn essential information, but she’s dangerous. Partnering with her is a deadly game. I wanted to protect you from it.”
“You told me to go home,” Calvin said. “That hurt.”
Serena smiled and hugged him. “I would rather you were home because I love you! It took time to learn to swim in these waters. I endured experiences I would never want you to have, and almost lost my life.”
“All the more reason I should be here to help,” Calvin said.
“I would probably feel the same way if our roles were reversed,” Serena said. “Even so, I wouldn’t want people I care about dealing with Basirus and Isadore.”
“We wouldn’t be here without her,” Merek said. “But I can tell she’s no friend of ours. I’m not going to let her hijack the Wizenstone.”
“Keep her in the dark,” Serena said. “She would rather not make her move until she knows what to do with the blade. I think she was bluffing about flying away. Until she knows your secrets, I don’t think she’ll let you out of her sight. She has been trying to gain the Wizenstone for centuries.”
“It’s a complicated situation,” Merek said. “We need to go somewhere else before the storm ends, but our only hope to get there in time depends on the dragon.”
“He won’t be able to fly in the storm,” Serena said.
“Dragons are strong,” Merek said. “With enough motivation, he might be able to run.”
Closing his eyes, Seth reached out with his shadow-charming senses, trying to discern a dark blade. Instead, beneath his feet, he immediately perceived a chattering chaos of entities. The sudden discovery was such a shock that he unwittingly withdrew
